Every time I see a "Blockchain 101" post, inevitably, it mentions Bitcoin. That’s telling you about a specific use of a blockchain technology rather than describing what blockchain technology is and what it can do for you in general. So, I figured I'd write the more general “what is” version. I’ll also touch on what it takes for you to work with blockchains.

By the way, I'm going to try not to mention Bitcoin again here. So, let's go...

The Problem

Traditionally, if parties wanted to track assets—let’s say cars—these assets would be tracked by separate parties keeping their own individual records. Those parties can alter those assets (buy the car, sell the car, be the insurer for the car). However, this is inefficient and prone to error.